The top teams on the World Match Racing Tour are in China for the final event on December 10–15 in Shenzhen, with the winner crowned the 2024 Match Racing World Champion and earn a share of the USD 200,000 prize purse.
The twelve-team lineup features a mix of seasoned champions and rising stars who have delivered exceptional performances during the 2024 season. Britain’s seven-time world champion Ian Williams returns to defend the title, aiming for a record eighth championship victory (‘07, ’08, ’11, ’12, ’14, ’15, ‘24).
Leading the WMRT leaderboard and ranked number one match racer in the world is Chris Poole (USA) who had a strong season, including securing their second consecutive Congressional Cup win in April.
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) and his crew bring momentum from their fourth Bermuda Gold Cup victory in October, while Australia’s Cole Tapper, fresh off a Youth Match Racing World Championship win in Jeddah earlier this month, aims to challenge the veterans.
This marks the third time the WMRT Final has been hosted in China and the second time at this venue in Shenzhen. The competition will take place in Fareast 28R keelboats, the same class used in this year’s GKSS Match Cup Sweden, where Poole made history as the first American skipper to win the event.
Principal Race Officer Randy Smith (USA) will run racing alongside Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell (GBR) and a team of ten World Sailing International Umpires.
Tour information – Event details and results – Facebook
Entry list –
1. Chris Poole (USA), #1 rank – Crew: Kai Coleman, Cam Seagreen, Sam Gilmour
2. Eric Monnin (Switzerland), #2 rank – Crew: Simon Brügger, Maxime Mesnil, Ute Monnin-Wagner, Hugo Feydit
3. Rocco Attili (Italy), #3 rank – Crew: Gianluca Perasole, Ludovico Mori, Giulio Tamburini, Camilla Cordero di Montezemo
4. Timothée Rossi (France), #4 rank – Crew: Theo Masse, Aymeric Arthaud, Tom Marsan, Gaultier Tallieu
5. Ian Garreta (France), #5 rank – Crew: Vicenç Girodeau, Thibaut Demai, Calixte Benoit, Alice Chiappori
6. Johnie Berntsson (Sweden), #8 rank – Crew: Johnie Berntsson, Filip Karlsson, Daniel Engblom Wolfgang, Herman Rolf Andersson
7. Aurélien Pierroz (France), #10 rank – Crew: Celément Michel, Sébastien Riot, Aurélien Barthelémy, Lola Billn
8. Nick Egnot-Johnson (New Zealand), #11 rank – Crew: Jack Frewin, Zak Merton, Chris Main
9. Ian Williams (England) – Crew: Jon Gundersen, Richard Sydenham, Gerrard Thomas
10. Zac West (Australia) – Crew: Tom Picot, James Hayhoe, James Hopkins
11. Cole Tapper (Australia) – Crew: Jordan Reece, Max Brennan, Hamish Vass
12. Sheng Shen (China) – Crew: Yongdong Zhang 张永东, Yi Huang 黄艺, Changlong Liu 刘昌隆, Liguo Zhang 张立国, Hainan Chen 陈海南
Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion.
Previous champions include Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR), Taylor Canfield (USA), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Peter Holmberg (ISV), Adam Minoprio (NZL), Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Bertrand Pace (FRA), Jesper Radich (DEN), Phil Robertson (NZL), and Ian Williams (GBR).
Since inception, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD23million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors.
Source: WMRT
